Pharmacology Undergraduate Summer Research Program
Join us for an exciting summer research experience in Ann Arbor Michigan! Our 10-week undergraduate research experience is designed for undergraduate students seeking additional research experience outside of their home institutions. (Current U-M students are also eligible to apply.) Applications are especially encouraged from students with research experience who wish to pursue a Ph.D. in the basic sciences.
2026 Summer Internship Dates: May 26, 2026 - July 31, 2026
About the Programs
The Department of Pharmacology has two summer programs:
- ASPET Institutional Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
- Charles Ross Summer Fellowship
During our summer program, Fellows will:
- Receive a $7000 summer stipend
- Work in a pharmacology lab with a mentor
- Attend weekly ‘Conversations about Pharmacology’ seminar series, with topics on lab best practices and discussions of current faculty research
- Engage in social, academic, and professional development sessions with other U-M summer program fellows
- Attend two career-related Pharmacology symposiums
- Present their research at the end of the 10-weeks to the department
We have 1 application and two funding mechanisms, ASPET and internally funded by the Charles Ross Summer Fellowship. Each summer fellow will receive a stipend of approximately $7000 to be used towards travel, housing and food.
Eligible applicants must:
- Be full-time college students
- Have completed at least two terms
- Have maintained a GPA of 3.0 or better
- Devote 10 consecutive weeks to full time laboratory research
Apply: https://ogpssumprog.smapply.io/prog/pharm_summer_research_programs_at_u-m_pharmacology_2026
Deadline for Summer 2026 Pharmacology Undergraduate Summer Research Program: Sunday, January 18, 2026
Program Overview
During a summer in the Department of Pharmacology, students will conduct an intensive research project with faculty and graduate students. Throughout the summer, all students will engage in a series of academic and professional development seminars. At the end of the 10-week project, students will present their research to the department. The 2026 program runs from May 26 to July 31, 2026.
Letters of Recommendation
A minimum of one letter of recommendation is required; applicants may have up to three. One of the letters must be from an academic reference. Letters must be uploaded by the application deadline of January 18, 2026. Applicants are encourage to request their letters a minimum of two weeks in advance of the deadline, through the application portal, to allow their recommender(s) adequate time to upload their letter.
The summer programs goals are to:
- Introduce students to and prepare them for advanced studies in a PhD program
- Build professional and personal networks to support student’s interest in the field
- Encourage students to apply to a PhD program at U-M
ASPET
The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) is a 4,000-member scientific society focused on pharmacological research across academia, government, industry, and non-profits.
Charles Ross Summer Fellowship
This Charles R. Ross Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program was established in memory of Dr. Charles Richard Ross, the first African-American to receive a PhD in Pharmacology from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
After receiving his PhD in 1966, Dr. Ross went on to become an international expert in renal pharmacology and physiology specializing in renal transport mechanism, aging, membrane properties and nephrotoxicities. During his years in academics, he served on numerous committees for such agencies as the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Aging, National Institute of Environmental Science, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. He was affiliated for many years with the State University of New York, and was a consultant to McNeil Laboratories and the Syracuse Community General Hospital.
Dr. Ross was Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Pharmacology at SUNY where he taught pharmacology for medical students and coordinated the efforts of 35 other faculty members associated with the pharmacology course at the Health Science Center.
In memory of Dr. Ross, this summer fellowship program was established through an endowment to provide students who are interested in the biomedical sciences first-hand laboratory experience with a focus on pharmacology.
